Wow. I never expected to get such a positive reaction! So glad to see people are interested! I respond to reviews at the end, for now you can enjoy the next chapter :D

This fic is rated T for language. Just putting it out there. I forgot to add. (Nothing major)

Chapter Two

The Living Dead

One eye. Two eyes. Open. Look at the ugly world you live in. Brace yourself.

Ruby's eyes shot open, suddenly gasping as they did. Her body felt heavy, but alive. She was alive.

Where am I? What happened?

She blinked profusely, her memories a haze of swirls and clouded as she tried to gather up information. She looked up to see stone. Darkness surrounding her with only a faint glow of light coming from above her.

Soft. Something soft was under her. Something warm, over her. Her body felt like it was on fire, exhausted and limp. But somehow, it mustered up enough energy to move. Had the drugs worn off? She remembered holding Crescent Rose in her hands, ready to strike Cinder but she was thrown back against the wall by a huge burst of power that burned the cut on her arm, gnawing at her skin. Her body was immobilized and then something sharp jabbed her in the back of her neck. Then everything went wrong.

She was supposed to die. Cinder was supposed to die.

She failed everyone that believed in her.

Her lungs burned as did her throat. She turned her face to see out into the darkness and stopped when seeing a clear, crackled water bottle beside her face. She was on the ground on some sort of worn out mattress, no thicker than an inch but that didn't matter.

Water? And so fresh and clean...?

The clear liquid inside was filled to a quarter of the bottle which was hardly bigger than her forearm but it was water nonetheless.

Or was it poisoned water?

It was so impeccably clear that she doubted every belief that told her it was real. Clear water was hard to come by after the reservoirs were built to guard every speck of clean water, and the oceans and sea's guarded heavily by Cinder's men. The water that they had been able to find was either partly clean or contaminated with toxins given off from the creatures of Grimm.

Life was sucked out from the ground that plants began to die and darkness engulfed the Remnant.

It felt like a sharp slap across her cheek. Remembering it all. The thousands that died from starvation, from being hunted and sickness.

Her eyes felt moist but she forced herself not to cry.

She looked back at the water, contemplating whether it was safe to drink. Cinder hadn't killed her yet so perhaps her plan was to kill her slowly, torture her till she could no longer take it. But right now her throat was eager for water. She had to choose.

Live but eventually die from thirst or risk my life and drink the water?

What a predicament.

"It's safe to drink... if that's what you're thinking."

She almost jumped up from the sudden voice that called out from across the shadows. Her heart leapt up to her throat that she was sure it was having an attack.

Who was that?

She found herself sitting up, grimacing from the dull ache on her right forearm. To her surprise, there was some sort of grey fabric wrapped around it, concealing the gore underneath. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, inclining her head towards the sound of the voice.

God, even her eyes were still fuzzy.

When her eyesight adjusted to the poorly lit room, she almost gasped but her dry throat couldn't handle it yet.

I remember.

It was real. She hadn't dreamt it but she was sure before passing out that she had seen him.

There, sitting against the bars of the cell across from her with a smirk on his lips, his flop of orange hair that was strangely unkempt, the single slanted green eye with the other covered by a layer of bangs and long eyelashes, was Roman Torchwick.

His hair was free from his usual bowler hat, losing that 'gentleman' appearance he always held. The white jacket was missing leaving a plain black t-shirt and the grey scarf tied around his neck but even that looked strange. His arms were bare, revealing the defined curves of his muscles that she had never seen before. His hands were now covered with black fingerless gloves.

The main item – his cane. That blasted cane that had been fired at her way too many times, sometimes succeeding to hit her body with the firework rockets that exploded on impact, was missing. His knees were drawn up, his elbows balanced on the caps casually like he was sitting at a beach and enjoying the view of the ocean.

As if he could read her thoughts, his smirk widened.

"Hello Red."

A shiver crawled up her spine at the sound of his voice. It was too familiar, too unreal. It was low, cocky. Almost husky and aged.

He was alive. He was right in front of her!

She could feel herself blink, forcing herself to wake up if she had been dreaming or hallucinating. He couldn't be here, he wasn't supposed to be alive.

"I can tell you're surprised to see me alive," he chuckled quietly. "Actually, I'm surprised myself."

How does he do that? How does he know what I'm thinking?

Every word he spoke brought her back down to reality, forcing her to embrace the truth. Torchwick was very much alive and here he was, talking to her in a cell out of all places. Her eyes were glued to his, refusing to move.

She had a sudden flashback to their first meeting, when she had interrupted his little robbery at that old dust shop.

The shop that no longer existed.

Her heart clenched.

Torchwick's eyes studied her face, almost like he was seeing right through her. Those green eyes flickered slowly like he was waiting for her to say something. What could she say? Her eyes fell to the water bottle once more, her longing suddenly increased.

"Drink the water Red, I promise it isn't poisoned."

If she could laugh, she would have. Loud. Trusting Roman Torchwick was like trusting Cinder not to let go of her hand if she was hanging over a cliff. Impossible.

Seeing her hesitation, he must have realised the blunder of a sentence he made and sighed. She looked up with narrowed eyes. For the first time, she noticed that his usual pale complexion had blemishes. There was an odd fading scar by his left jaw, scuff marks surrounding his cheeks and upper arms and a few bruises in odd spots.

What happened to him?

"For f- look kid, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. So, drink," he pressed on, sounding a little annoyed now.

Was she supposed to feel grateful? To believe his words? There was logic behind it to some extent but their past was hardly a picnic to remember. He was the man behind the hundreds of robberies and stole the precious Dust they so badly needed. He was the one to work alongside the White Fang and Cinder Fall, choosing the life of crime. He handed the Remnant over on a plate to Cinder.

Her throat complained and she found herself wishing to believe his words.

Resist it Ruby. He's a liar.

But her brain seemed to be ignored as her hand had a mind of its own, reaching out for the bottle and curling her fingers around it. The water sloshed inside as she raised it, bringing it closer to her mouth. Her body trembled, afraid. She didn't dare look up to see his expression.

Her shaky fingers unscrewed the cap, then brought the brim to her lips. She could taste it already. The freshness of it was enticing and tempting.

The water was like an instant relief, spiralling down her throat like a stream. The burning faded at once and suddenly she forgot all her previous suspicions, chugging down the water like an animal. It was cool, fresher than any water or drink she had drunk in months. The taste was almost sweet but delicious and refreshing. Water had never tasted so good, she regretted ever taking advantage of it in the past.

She was almost disappointed when it came to the last few drops, craving for more but her throat was satisfied and she could feel energy surging through her body and lungs. She licked her lips, feeling them moisten.

As if she had woken up from a nightmare, she froze instantly.

What had she done?!

Her eyes were stuck on the empty bottle held in her palms, its contents now inside of her that could very well be poisoned.

A moment passed. Another.

Nothing was happening.

More silence.

More waiting.

It felt like years had passed and nothing came. No agonising pain, no sickness, nothing.

Her eyes looked up slowly, catching the one green iris staring right back. There was something within them, a certain smugness. A smirk curled at his lips as he shook his head slowly.

"Now, was that so hard?" his eye pointed down. "You have to learn to trust me Red, I am your prison buddy now."

What?

"Oh don't look so surprised. You think I'm sitting in this cell for fun?" he said sardonically, the very tone she recalled him using a long time ago. His face darkened, like anger clouded his mood. A bitter laugh escaped his lips that made her recoil. "Not even close..."

"You're supposed to be dead."

Did she just say that?

Her own voice surprised her, she almost jumped at the sound of it and the fact it was clear, painless. Cracked. It seemed to affect Torchwick too, his eye widened slightly, trying to grasp the idea of her speaking. The smirk returned.

"But I'm very much alive."

She hesitated, biting back her snappy reply.

"I saw you. That day..." she started off slowly, eyes falling to the empty bottle of water. "The whole warehouse was on fire. You never came out. I left you unconscious."

"Hmm, yes, I should thank you for that," he lowered his tone. "I guess I just got lucky."

She shot her head up, glaring at him with an intense hatred that had built up for this man for so long. All this time she believed him to be dead, to have suffered a fate where he burned in the very fire he created yet here he was! Alive! Talking to her as if nothing had happened!

"You should have died!" she cried out, feeling the waves of heart-wrenching emotions gather inside her heart, tightening around it. She threw the bottle across the floor, watching it roll away with a light thump. Her breathing came out in ragged breaths.

Something flickered across his face, an expression she couldn't read. There was no cockiness, no sarcastic grin or smug smile. The one eye she was in view of spoke a different story. His eyes were hiding a secret. It left her speechless. After a moment, she eased back and sighed, feeling the locks of her hair curtaining her face and shadowed her eyes from his view.

"What happened to you?" she blurted out.

A sense of dread filled her. Did she really want to know?

He didn't answer. When she looked up to check if he had fallen unconscious or something she was alarmed to find him staring at her with an intensity that could cut through glass. The dark swirls of green laid heavily on her, digging at her soul to unearth her hidden memories. She felt the urge to protect them somehow. He tilted his head to the side, gazing at her face. Questioning. Suspicious.

"The question here is... what happened to you?"

She drew her breath in sharply, flinching like he had just asked her to take an innocent life away. A searing pain lashed at her chest, deeply. It lingered for a few moments until she heard him speak again.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he studied her face. "What happened to you, Red, to make you the cold hearted and bitter girl you seemed to have become?"

The words cut through her like a knife. She shook at the thought of coming up with an answer. It was the one question... that terrified her.

Ha Ha. I don't even know what to say. Let me know your thoughts.

shadowdoom10: Ruby is quite dark in this fic but the old her is still in there somewhere! Glad you're interested :-)

Dreadphoenix: Thanks for taking an interest! Hope I don't disappoint!

frik1000: Yaay RubyxTorchwick fans unite!

Agent-Freelancer-D C: Yes I do :P

Foxtrot Agent 21: You are very good at guessing! I'm surprised you came up with that theory just from that first chapter haha. You're quite right! And thank you, I hope I don't disappoint! :-)

Mr Ruffles: I'll update as fast as I can :-)

NeverCameUpThroughTheRabbitHole: Glad you're liking it so far! Lot's more to come :D

Thank you everyone for the support! Hope you enjoyed chapter 2 and do leave a review. It encourages me so much! :-)